A journey through art and history

Archive for June, 2012

Addressing me as ‘Boots’, WordPress has put a star on my forehead! Le Artiste Boots has received 500 likes! Counting these these notifications started in the spring.

Nine months of sharing rambling thoughts and reblogging (thanks for your generosity) has reached this achievement.

As changes in our stats format occurred, I am more likely to write than follow the numbers. Not that I don’t check them. The main question I wanted answered when starting these two blogs was: will people know to read them? would my efforts be in the clouds. Of course, I did not know iCloud would capture everyone’s written words.

The numbers climb with loyal followers. i value each and every reader and those who click the ‘like’ buttons. Your comments and reblogging are amazing.

Who knew?

Hidden in plain view is this huge neighborhood of interesting and supportive people. Give a shout out to WordPress for giving us this forum.

What else?

My friend bought a new iPad recently. The circumstances were that this was a replacement. She was surprised that the first screen offered to update from her previous iPad using iCloud. With the selection of ‘yes’ all of her previous documents, photos etc. downloaded in a few minutes. The fear of lost data no longer exists with iCloud and similar services.

Like this:

The Wiltshire Heritage Museum (Devizes, England) held a ‘pop-up exhibition’ entitled Eric Ravilious and Wiltshire’s White Horses at the Museum on Saturday, 23 June 2012. Introduction to the exhibition on the Museum’s website explains that –

Eric Ravilious (1903-1942) was one of the leading artists of the 1930’s, who captured the essence of the English landscape in his stunning watercolours. No landscape inspired him more than the chalk downs of southern England. Intrigued by white horses and hill figures, he painted a series of watercolours that were destined to be featured in the children’s ‘Puffin’ series. His ‘dummy’ of the book, lost for decades, has just been purchased by the Museum and is now on display for the first time in a special ‘pop-up’ exhibition.

Emancipation Proclamation original copy, signed by Abraham Lincoln, sold at a New York auction for $2.1 million Wednesday. It’s onlt the second highest priced Emancipation Proclamation copy.

By Verena Dobnik, Associated Press / June 29, 2012

This undated photo provided by Seth Kaller, Inc., shows a detail from the rare original copy of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation which sold Tuesday, June 26, 2012, at a New York auction for more than $2 million. It’s the second-highest price ever paid for a Lincoln-signed proclamation – after one owned by the late Sen. Robert Kennedy that went for $3.8 million two years ago.

Seth Kaller/AP/File

New York

A rare original copy of President Abraham Lincoln‘s Emancipation Proclamation ordering the freeing of slaves sold Tuesday at a New York auction for more than $2 million. It’s the second-highest price ever paid for a Lincoln-signed proclamation — after one owned by the late Sen. Robert Kennedy that went for $3.8 million two years ago.

This price and the one for the Kennedy copy are the highest ever paid for the proclamation, reflecting a “growing appreciation for documents that capture the most important moments in our history,” said Seth Kaller, a dealer in American historic documents and expert on the Emancipation Proclamation; he’s handled eight signed copies.

The document will go on public exhibit somewhere in Washington, he said. The name of the institution is yet to be announced.

Lincoln signed the proclamation during the Civil War, freeing all slaves in states then in rebellion. The proclamation also provided a legal framework for the emancipation of millions of other slaves as the Union armies advanced.

Forty-eight copies were subsequently printed, with Lincoln signing all of them.

The president donated them to the so-called Sanitary Commission, a precursor of the modern Red Cross that sold the documents privately to provide medical care to Union soldiers.

I should have spoken about women’s shoe fashions. It had occurred to me that the trend to wrap the ankle and lower leg looked a lot like restraint. The use of wedgies and extreme heels did not elevate women in height as much as it made it more difficult for women to go about their days.

Uproar and History
The uproar over the men’s gym shoes with the chains and ankle restraints brought to mind this larger problem.

Shoes for women are uncomfortable footwear and bone-ugly designs. Since Chinese women had their feet broken and bound, women have struggled to walk comfortably. Baby shoes had to be high top to protect ankles.

The next stage was when parents bought Stride Rite shoes. A “qualified doctor” looked for any hint of toe-ing in or out. Often a prescription was handed to this person from a pediatrician. Metal lifts altered the gate. Arch supports made the small child struggle to maintain balance. During the austerity of the depression children got one pair a year, if needed. Once the money situation eased, the family tried to buy shoes every six months. No shoes were handed down to siblings. A Sunday pair of shoes was a requirement for Sunday School.

This was followed by adamant children. A scene in the store guaranteed a Converse purchase. Fathers protested and then joined what could not be changed.

Women’s shoes are starting to look like court-ordered ankle restraints. The style with 6-inch platforms is a return to torture. The shoe does not flex with the foot. Walking is like moving on hoofs. Extremely high, thin heels also endanger falling or the turning of ankles. We have all had a good laugh at professional models falling on the runway.

Who knew?

No protest for women’s shoes has had the immediate style change that the Adidas uproar did. Why not?

Share this:

Like this:

I’m in Fuerteventura (Spain), one of the seven Canary Islands – declared biosphere reserve by Unesco – in the Atlantic Ocean, not so far from the North African coast. Tranquility, peace, quiet, sun and enchanting colors: these aree the elements we can find here.

Fuerteventura is the colour of its beaches, the sky, the sea, the flavours of its products, its cuisine, its natural reserves, its mountains, its dunes, its winds and the combination of all these things.

The Island maintains much of its original volcanic heritage made of incredible landscapes and natural contrasts, as Tindaya Mountain, Betancuria Natural Reserve, the Corralejo Dunes, the El Cotillo fishing villages and the beatiful Jandia Playa, with the most attractives beaches.

Fuerteventura is also art and street art, as I will report in the next days… So, welcome in Fuerteventura! A place to discover and to love…